Photographer's Note

Rarely do I get the chance to take pictures here in the kingdom, since photography in public is strictly forbidden. This was a lucky shot, I guess, since no one confronted me the moment I held my camera.

The abaya is an overgarment worn by women in Muslim-majority countries. It is the traditional form of hijab / Jilbab, or Islamic dress, for many countries of the Arabian peninsula. It is sometimes adopted in other parts of Islamic world. Traditional abayas are black, and may be either a large square of fabric draped from the shoulders or head, or a long black caftan. The abaya should cover the whole body save face, feet, and hands. It can be worn with the niqab, a face veil covering all but the eyes. Some women choose to also wear long black gloves, so their hands are covered underneath the abaya.

Saudi Arabia requires women to cover in public; the niqāb is optional. Covering is enforced by the religious police, the mutaween (also known as the 'mutawa').
~from Wikipedia.

Fortunately, expatriate women are free not to wear a head scarf for quite some time now here in Jeddah, since the mutawas are no longer as visible as they used to be since the beginning of King Abdullah's reign.

Work done:
* Sharpened the image a little bit more.
* Played with the levels and curves.
* Increased brightness and contrast.
* Burned some areas to bring out more saturated colors, especially from the carousel on the left.

* good contrast between the blurred walking saudi lady versus the stationed filipina girl who must have been texting...he!he!
*i consider this a good show of ordinary saudi life where daily living is dictated by norms of religion.

You are courageous!!!!! Congratulations
I fully understand the difficulties you are describing in taking pictures
I was on mission in Ryadh and was almost arrested because i took a picture
Take care and good luck

Kaye,
An excellnt and very rare depiction of street life in Saudi. Great movement and very strong colour. I was just wondering if you could try and take some more pictures for the MA programme or if you have aany more pictures you have taken in the last 3 weeks.

Hi Kaye, I like the motion at the background and the well lighted beautiful face of the girl. This is the first time I hear from a girl who lives in Saudi, do you work there? Take care there...Rgds from Manila, Alex